Job Specifications
Become a Pioneer – Launch Your AI Startup
Are you an AI/ML engineer looking to build something that truly matters?
Do you want to launch a venture but don’t yet have the right idea or team?
At Pioneers, we back technical founders ready to build world-changing companies. This is a launchpad for high-achieving individuals, designed to help you find your co-founder, shape a bold AI-first idea, and raise your first round of funding.
We bring together unconventional founders that are: engineers, product minds, creatives, and operators for an intense 3-month sprint in Station F, the world’s biggest startup campus.
Become a Pioneer and build your startup from day one.
What is Pioneers
Pioneers is a pre-seed venture program investing before the startup exists. We bet on people, not pitch decks. If you’re a technical founder with a builder’s mindset, we’ll help you go from raw idea to funded company—fast.
Our focus: AI-first products solving real-world problems.
What to Expect
Over 3 months in Paris, you’ll work side-by-side with exceptional peers and domain experts. You’ll form your founding team, shape an idea grounded in AI/ML innovation, and launch a real MVP.
Top teams receive €100,000 for 7% equity and join our 3-month acceleration. Founders can also access our optional Silicon Valley bootcamp for unmatched exposure to US investors and markets.
Who We’re Looking For
We’re looking for an AI/ML founder who thrives on turning real-world challenges into products powered by applied machine learning. You understand model design but also care deeply about how it gets into the hands of users.
You're technical. You're scrappy. You care more about impact than research papers.
Key responsibilities:
Lead AI/ML development – own model design, training, evaluation, and deployment
Build and scale infrastructure – pipelines, APIs, cloud deployment, MLOps
Turn messy data into signal – data preprocessing, labeling, and iteration
Build fast, test fast – prototype ideas, ship models, learn from users
Work closely with product, design & GTM – AI is the core of your product
Pitch alongside your co-founder to investors and mentors
You might have a background in:
Machine learning, deep learning, NLP, computer vision, data science
Tools like Python, PyTorch, TensorFlow, LangChain, Hugging Face, JAX, etc.
Deploying models into production, building real-time inference systems, fine-tuning open-source LLMs
More than your CV, we care about your mindset:
Obsessive ambition – You’re not optimizing for marginal gains. You’re building category-defining products.
First-principle thinking – You approach AI with a builder’s pragmatism, not academic dogma.
High agency – You take ownership, make fast decisions, and rally others through action.
Key Details
Start: June 11, 2025
Application Deadline: May 10, 2025
Duration: 3 months
Location: Paris (on-site required)
ℹ How It Works
Meet your co-founder
Join a cohort of 30 handpicked pioneers: engineers, researchers, and builders from across Europe. You’ll form a founding team and validate your direction.
Build. Ship. Iterate.
After forming your team, enter a 1-month sprint to ship your MVP, test with users, and find early traction. No distractions—just building and validating.
Get backed. Go faster.
Top teams get €100K pre-seed, join our accelerator, and get fast-tracked to Silicon Valley. The program ends with a Demo Day in front of 100+ investors.
Apply now and launch your AI-first startup with Pioneers:
https://thepioneer.vc/